Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, the Detroit teen whose detention by federal immigration authorities last month caused an outcry and led to calls for his release, has been deported, his attorney said Friday morning.

Attorney Ruby Robinson said he learned late Thursday night from Maykol鈥檚 mother, in an 11:15 p.m. voicemail, that the teen was back in his home country of Colombia.

Robinson said he hadn鈥檛 yet spoken with Maykol, but hoped to do so later Friday. He said the teen is now with his grandmother in Colombia.

Chalkbeat reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to confirm the deportation, but did not get a response. His information is no longer available on .

while he and a group of other newcomer boys attempted to join a field trip at Lake Erie Metropark, about 25 miles away from Detroit. Rockwood police stopped the teen for allegedly tailgating another car. Maykol did not have a driver鈥檚 license, only a City of Detroit identification card, Robinson has previously said.

His detention prompted advocacy from his teachers, fellow students, community members, and lawmakers who pleaded for Maykol to be allowed to remain in the country to finish high school. He was 3.5 credits shy of a high school diploma at Western International High School, where he was enrolled.

鈥淚鈥檓 devastated,鈥� said Kristen Schoettle, who taught Maykol at Western.

鈥淭he cruelty of this country really shakes me,鈥� Schoettle said. 鈥淭his kid, my bright student, was passed along to prisons for a month, scared and facing awful conditions I鈥檓 sure, for the crime of what 鈥� fleeing his country as a minor in search of a better life? And the US government decided his time was better spent in prison than finishing out the school year.鈥�

Schoettle said she hopes to hear from Maykol today.

鈥淚 hope he鈥檚 safe with his grandma. I hope he can recover from this traumatizing experience and still will dream of a better life. I鈥檒l miss him in my classroom next year and our city and our country are worse off without people like him,鈥� she said.

Schoettle shared examples of Maykol鈥檚 classroom work with Chalkbeat, including what he wrote when asked earlier this year to write about freedom.

鈥淚 think the freedom in this moment is a little confusing since we can鈥檛 leave safely since we don鈥檛 know what can happen and it seems strange to me since we have to be more careful than usual,鈥� he wrote in Spanish.

Thousands of people signed a petition earlier last week .

for more than 2陆 hours at the district鈥檚 school board meeting on June 10. Afterward, the board released a statement saying it wanted Maykol to be able to stay in the country to earn his diploma.

Maykol鈥檚 mother attended that school board meeting, though she didn鈥檛 speak. Robinson, senior managing attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, said the organization isn鈥檛 representing Maykol鈥檚 mother.

鈥淏ut I would suspect she will try to return to Colombia at her own expense based on what she learned with Maykol鈥檚 month-long, taxpayer-funded, and entirely unnecessary and harmful detention.鈥�

During the May 20 traffic stop that led to his detention, police officers could not communicate with him in Spanish and called Customs and Border Protection agents to translate.

Maykol, who came to the U.S. when he was 16, had already been going through a legal process to return to Colombia after receiving a final order of deportation in 2024. He was working with immigration officials and the Colombian Consulate to obtain the documentation he needed to fly out of the country with his mother.

While he made those arrangements, Maykol planned to finish high school in Detroit.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

鈥淲e鈥檇 get something really plain like one piece of bread with one piece of fish or chicken,鈥� Woodard told 麻豆精品. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 count out everything we鈥檇 get to make sure everyone had something to eat.鈥�

The district began to change when officials introduced food trucks and live cooking demonstrations into its school meal strategy in 2019, said Woodard, 17.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a really amazing feat,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel safe eating the food because care is put into everything I eat now.鈥�

Originally created pre-pandemic, the food trucks and live cooking demonstrations have contributed to the district鈥檚 hike in school meal participation for the 2022-23 school year among the nearly 50,000 students enrolled in the district’s 107 schools.

School breakfast participation increased from 22,142 to 24,612 students, and school lunch participation increased from 28,558 to 33,062 students 鈥� an 11% and 16% surge, according to the .

Food Trucks

鈥淲hen we got the food trucks, I was immediately able to see and feel that shift on how students see school food service,鈥� said Carl Williams, executive director of the district鈥檚 office of school nutrition. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really elevated our program and students see us differently.鈥�

Williams said there鈥檚 high demand for the food trucks 鈥� often causing competition among Detroit principals rushing to reserve them.

鈥淭he principals love it like crazy,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l call me first thing in the beginning of the school year trying to get them booked.鈥�

Williams said the district designed two food trucks, often referred to as Blue and Goldie to represent the district鈥檚 official colors, that routinely visits two of the 29 high schools each week.

The elementary and middle schools can also schedule food truck visits for special events, he said.

鈥淭he food trucks have created an abundance of options for students鈥nd they look at us as a quality meal provider,鈥� Williams said.

From burrito bowls to street tacos, Woodard said the food trucks are so popular she often sees her classmates go back in line for seconds.

鈥淥f course they would,鈥� Woodard said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l even try to be discreet about it.鈥�

Live Cooking Demonstrations

Mike Hearn, also known as the Great Chef Mike, is one of four chefs contributing to the food trucks and live cooking demonstrations.

鈥淚t gives me so much excitement because it offers something different for our students and I鈥檓 just happy to be a part of it,鈥� Hearn told 麻豆精品.

Hearn said he particularly enjoys running the stir fry station where he lays out all of his ingredients, from bean sprouts to bamboo shoots to various proteins, for students to see him cook.

鈥淚t really increases [school meal] participation and that鈥檚 what鈥檚 most important to make sure we don鈥檛 leave any hungry kids out there,鈥� Hearn said.

Williams said one student told him the meals made him feel like he was 鈥渆ating at a five star luxury restaurant and my response to him was 鈥榶ou deserve this type of service every day.鈥欌��

Next Steps

Kevin Frank, senior director of the district鈥檚 office of school nutrition, said the district鈥檚 school meal initiatives are unique to Michigan schools.

鈥淲e鈥檙e like a hidden gem,鈥� Frank told 麻豆精品, adding that despite budget limits the district has been exploring more food options, such as Nigerian and Mexican dishes, to match the diversity of Detroit鈥檚 students.

鈥淲e obviously have a lot of restrictions, but our chefs are brilliant and if anyone can do it they can,鈥� Frank said.